Science ministry unveils new hiring plan

Science and ICT First Vice Minister Lee Jin-gyu gives a briefing on the ministry’s guideline for the full-time employment of temporary workers at 25 state-run research institutes, at the ministry in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Science and ICT

By Kang Seung-woo

Temporary workers conducting years-long research projects at 25 state-run institutes will have permanent positions next year.

Those engaged in safety-related work at the institutes will also be employed full-time.

The Ministry of Science and ICT unveiled a guideline for the full-time employment of some temporary workers Tuesday, after months of discussions with institutes, unions and labor experts.

The move came as the Moon Jae-in administration pushes ahead with the implementation of the President’s campaign pledge to reduce the number of irregular workers and increase the employment of regular workers.

As of July 20, 6,400 temporary employees were working for the institutes.

According to the guideline, an irregular employee whose project is expected to last for more than nine months a year or the next two years will get full-time employment.

Temporary workers who take on high-risk duties such as dealing with explosives or toxic substances also will get permanent positions.

Those subject to the new full-time employment guideline will go through a minimum evaluation process.

However, the ministry also allows institutes to opt for open competitive employment for some positions requiring expertise. In this case, institutes and employees have to submit a reason for the hiring process and written opinions to a committee that will be established at each institute to review the change in employment status.

“We first considered the job security of current irregular workers contributing to the research performances of state-run institutes to keep in tune with the government’s plan to increase employment of regular workers,” Lee Jin-gyu, the first vice minister of the science ministry, said in a briefing.

In accordance with the guideline, all institutes must finalize their employment plans by December. The transition will be complete by next March.

However, postdoctoral and student researchers are excluded from the permanent employment transition as they receive training before being hired, the ministry said.

“The ministry plans to hold briefing sessions and run an online bulletin board on its official website until the transition is complete,” Lee said.

The government is now seeking to create over 800,000 jobs in the public sector in the next five years to counter growing unemployment.